Corient Private Wealth LLC Trims Stake in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Corient Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 365,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,909 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kroger were worth $22,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Kroger by 1,628.1% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 553 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kroger in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kroger Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of KR opened at $65.94 on Wednesday. The Kroger Co. has a twelve month low of $49.04 and a twelve month high of $68.51. The company has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.70.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. Kroger had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 27.73%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.96 billion. As a group, analysts expect that The Kroger Co. will post 4.44 EPS for the current year.

Kroger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.88%.

Kroger declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $7.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 16.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kroger from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Todd A. Foley sold 16,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.44, for a total value of $1,040,302.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,366.08. This trade represents a 23.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Carin L. Fike sold 4,492 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.53, for a total transaction of $298,852.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,524.40. The trade was a 56.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 213,217 shares of company stock valued at $14,275,261 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.